


Burn the Land & Boil the Sea

by angelsandbrowncoats



Category: Firefly, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Crossover, M/M, Some depictions of violence, its the alliance alright?, like they call them weapons & treat them like weapons, there will be more, this is just the set up so far, treatment & discussion of humans as inanimate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 06:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6069229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsandbrowncoats/pseuds/angelsandbrowncoats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>General Brendol Hux II of the Alliance has been gifted with a prodigy/weapon from the Academy. Only, his weapon also happens to be the son of a Core planet's president, and did he mention a pain in the ass?<br/>To pile on to his problems, Kylo Ren's presence and mind-reading abilities has put to a screeching halt some of Hux's other plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Inspecting the Academy

**Author's Note:**

> Knowledge of Firefly is (always) recommended (its awesome) but not in any way necessary.

General Hux stood on the bridge of his cruiser, the Finalizer, watching the Academy grow larger as they approached it. He was perfectly composed- face set, back straight, hands clasped behind him- even though his mind raged at the thought of the time he was about to waste.

  
Two days past he had been waved by one of the few members of the Alliance who outranked him, ordering him to make a detour to the Academy that he was about to pass and inspect it. An inspection! Hux didn’t care in the slightest if the Academy was keeping up to code. What did it matter, anyway, when the test subjects had no rights? How exactly were the doctors and analysts supposed to be breaching something nonexistent? Or did they just want him to ensure there would be no escapes?

He knew he couldn’t protest. His promotion to general was fresh in his mind, and while he’d commanded this vessel for many years, his current route was to take him to a planet that was now under his jurisdiction. An entire planet, filled with wealthy, boot-licking Core dwellers, all his.

  
Regardless, he did not want his first move as general to be questioning an order. So on he went to ‘inspect’ the most dangerous place in space this side of Reaver territory. No prison had the reputation of the Academy. Then again, no prisoner was anywhere near as powerful as the ‘students’ Chief Analyst and Surgeon Snoke kept.

  
The Finalizer was within docking distance, and his best officer, Phasma, instructed the soldiers on how to connect a cruiser with a mobile station. Shortly, they were waved by the Academy, and Hux’s name was all it took for the Academy to open their doors to him.

  
He descended onto the Academy’s top floor via the connection tunnel and elevator, stepping off into a sleek hallway that screamed ‘Alliance’. It was too clean, too polished, too… perfect.

  
An escort was standing by, bowing nervously as he led Hux to a lounge and informed him, “Chief Analyst Snoke will be with you presently.”

  
Hux nodded absent-mindedly, choosing to examine the room rather than sit down. A tray with schnapps and two glasses sat on the cube table, but Hux was loath to touch anything in this place, much less consume something.

  
He pivoted on his heel to face the sound of a door opening. A man stood there who could only be described as ugly. Hux prided himself on his ability to ignore appearance and focus on talent, something that had cost the general whose position he now had his life. Yet, his mind could not work around the face of Snoke. His skin looked as if he had never stepped foot on a planet with sunlight; he was wrinkled, scarred, and otherwise disfigured; and there was an odd glint in his eye- nothing short of psychopathic. Not that Hux had expected any sane man to be able to run a torture lab this efficiently.

  
“General Hux… the second, I believe?”

  
“You are correct. May I presume I am speaking with the infamous scientist Snoke?”

  
“You may.”

  
The two studied each other for a long minute before Snoke gestured at the alcohol, “Not thirsty?”

  
“No, not particularly. I am deeply honored to get this chance to visit the Alliance’s greatest accomplishment, but if I delay here too long, I fear I shall be late for a mandatory interplanetary meeting. If you could show me what I need to see…?” he saw no point in dancing around the matter.

  
Snoke raised an eyebrow, pouring himself a glass, “As you wish. The Alliance has asked me to bring you up to speed on what exactly we do here, now that you are of such high standing. I’m sure you know some already.”

  
“Indeed. However, I would rather see it as you do. Please, enlighten me.”

  
The scientist chuckled, “I don’t think there’s a soul in the ‘verse that could see this place as I do. The students here are like children to me.”

  
Hux suppressed a snort, as well as the comment, ‘Children that you experiment on, you mean?’

  
Snoke seemed to sense his derision, but said nothing. He gestured towards a door, “Follow me, then. I will show you my work- my world.”

  
“Here at the Academy, we take people with exceptional minds and we improve them. We find just what it is that makes them special and use it to our advantage. What’s the use in training a hundred footsoldiers if one or two incisions to a genius’ mind gives them the power of a thousand?”

  
Hux frowned thoughtfully, “Is there not a risk?”

  
“A risk? What risk?”

  
“Well, pardon any offense, but wouldn’t the students be inclined to use that power against the people who had cut into them?”

Snoke laughed outright, “Against us? Absurd. Most of them realize who to be grateful to for their newfound abilities, and those that aren’t can easily be restrained with enough drugs.”

“I see.”

“You disapprove?”

“Not exactly. I just fail to see what they would gain from helping us. Perhaps if I saw the pa- students?”

“Of course, General, right this way.”

The scientist led Hux down a long hallway that overlooked a plethora of lab rooms. Each one held a single person strapped to a chair, often a teenager or young adult- although Hux saw at least two children. A few also contained scientists, working diligently on their subjects. Control rooms for the analyzers could be reached from the hallway, and Snoke showed Hux one that was actively being used.

“Excuse us, we’re just observing.”

The analyst was understandably nervous with his boss in the room, but the experiment itself captivated Hux. One man in a lab coat, with blue gloves, held the teen in place while the other, dressed alike, inserted four needles into the boy’s brain. The needles were attached to machines by thin cords, and as soon as a switch on the wall was flipped, all the machines came to life. The machines’ monitors were in the control room, and Hux found it difficult to choose which to watch- the data on the screens, or the writhing of the boy in the chair.

His attention was pulled to the screens when the analyst let out a cheer. Snoke himself looked excessively smug.

“What is it?”

“This one’s ready.”

Snoke’s smirk only grew, “Record time. I told you he would be. That is Kylo Ren, and what the screens have told us is that his mind and power have reached the optimal level. He is ready to be used by the Alliance.”

“Immediately?”

“All of the weapons living in the Academy are given to a handler once they have reached the peak of their powers. If no handler is available, we monitor them and attempt to tame them as best we can until they are ready to be sent out. The handler must be prepared for any range of events, but is at liberty to use their weapon however they choose. A few years with a handler is enough to tame even the wildest weapon, and at that point the Alliance will ask the handler if they wish to keep it, or if they think it should be turned loose as a unit unto itself,” Snoke explained. He put a hand on Hux’s arm, uncomfortably close to the general, “Which brings me to the real reason the Alliance sent you our way. A young, promising general is the ideal choice for a handler, and we our armory is overflowing. All the students in this hall are either already prepared to leave, or will be ready in a few days time. You can have your pick.”

Hux blinked. The Alliance wanted him to have a human weapon- a _wild_ human weapon- to tame and use at his will? Was this a blessing, or was it a curse? Could he even say no if he wanted to?

That last one he doubted.

“So? Any weapons catch your fancy? They all have their own specialties, you know.”

The general snapped out of it and thought seriously on his choice. He ought to pick someone who’s skills he didn’t have. Someone who would be useful aboard the Finalizer and on any planet he might grace with his presence. He also should choose someone who was less wild. He didn’t have time to babysit.

His rationalization of the matter shook and a single image emerged- the boy in the chair below. Kylo Ren… his file let Hux know that while his skills were useful, he was possibly the most high-maintenance student of the lot. And, when he looked back down at him, a memory stirred in his mind of news bulletin from years ago. A story about the public disaster in which one of the Core planet’s local presidents, Leia Organa, was seen arguing with her hot-tempered son, Ben Solo. Ben Solo, who looked an awful lot like Kylo Ren (at least, if he had a starved and tortured air about him).

In short, Ren was quite possibly the biggest hassle he could accept. Which didn’t stop his mouth from opening to say, “I’ll take him,” while his hand pointed at the dark haired boy. Snoke’s face contorted briefly- great, another downside to picking Ren- before he stiffly said, “I suppose. Would you like to see how he works, first?”

“I’d be glad to.”

Half an hour of moving and waking Ren later, Hux and Snoke stood above a training room. Kylo Ren entered a simulated battle. His body twisted with ease as he took out enemy after enemy with a sword he had been given. He stole a gun off of one of the robotic foes and shot one-handed, a feat in and of itself, without missing a target. He tripped some, using his foot to dismember others. When the last, the boss, emerged, he approached it and read its thoughts, predicting what moves it was going to make and easily avoiding them. The fiftieth robot fell just before the clock hit the seven minute mark.

Hux gaped.

Snoke grinned.

Ren stood perfectly still as the electronic haze dissolved and his rage cooled, allowing a scientist to cautiously approach and render him unconscious once more.

“They will bring him aboard your ship in an hour, once they’ve finished preparing him for space travel. I trust you can find your way out?”

Hux nodded once, turning on his heel and striding back to his ship. He had carefully watched the passages they had moved through, having no desire to ever be lost in this station.

~                                              ~                                            ~

Phasma greeted him upon his return, “So? Was it as boring as you thought?”

Hux stared at her, still not fully realizing what he had just agreed to, “It wasn’t really an inspection. They wanted to inform me of their work and- and-”

“And?”

“And give me a human weapon of my own to train and use. Apparently I look like I’d be good at discipline.”

Phasma didn’t bother to suppress her snort, “Where would they get an idea like that?”

Hux glared, “Clearly they were mistaken, if your attitude is anything to go by.”

“Oh, you know I’m just special.”

“Get us ready to leave in an hour’s time.”

“Aye, aye, cap- sorry, General”

“And show some respect!”

He stormed off to the sounds of her smothered laughter, schooling himself as much as possible to keep all emotion out of his mind. An hour of meditating himself back into the cold wall of ice he liked to be later, the crew alerted him to the arrival of two men carrying a box.

Striding out to meet them, he saw that the box was human sized, and directed it be placed in an empty (and heavily secure) quarters.

Once the men had left and the Finalizer was back on course, Hux- accompanied by Phasma- returned to the quarters. He knelt down and unclasped the locks on the case, lifting the lid. Kylo Ren lay inside, wearing a strange black uniform, rather than the hospital gown he’d had previously.

Instructions on the inside of the lid told him to press a button on a needle inserted into the teens- or possibly young man’s, now that he was up close- arm and to promptly remove it. He followed suit, standing back just as Ren shot up. He looked around wildly until his eyes found Hux and focused in on him.

“Welcome, Kylo Ren, to the Finalizer,” he greeted as graciously as possible.

Ren stared at him, eyes wide, “Who the fuck are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the slightly ooc interaction of Hux & Phasma, but they're the closest each other has to best friends. I have to imagine there's some teasing (away from the eyes of their inferiors, of course)


	2. Welcome Aboard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still very much exposition, since I'm still trying to grasp the characterization & decide the specifics of the rising action. I hope the characters aren't too ooc...  
> I tried, and therefore no one should criticize me  
> (unless its constructive criticism, which is welcome)

Hux held up his hands to show he was not threatening, and Phasma wisely followed suit. Without taking any steps forward or back Hux began slowly, “You're on the Finalizer, an Alliance Cruiser, and I am its commanding General. I also command you, now, as I have been newly appointed as your handler.”

Whatever the general was expecting, for Ren to spin and punch the wall behind him was not it. The boy- whether he was a minor or not was of little consequence compared to this tantrum- ranted, “Handler?! Snoke promised me the Academy would give me power and freedom!”

“Well, you do have power. Very few beings could have dented that wall and you really ought to pay for that. However, I understand you may not have full control at the moment, so I will let it slide this once. As far as freedom- you're stuck with me for at least three years, or until I manage to tame your temper. After that, your freedom is in my hands, so I suggest you think well on that,” Hux rolled off the information in a near monotone, thoughts already on his reports.

“You're supposed to ‘tame’ me when you don't even have time for me? When you choose paperwork over me? How's that gonna work?!”

Ah, right, the mind reading.

“That's another thing- I cannot kill you, but I can make your life unbearably miserable. If you ever look into my or Captain Phasma here’s minds again, I will. Now I suggest you calm down and act rationally.”

Kylo Ren stared at him for a minute, but Hux stared him down. Literally. Ren fainted to the floor in a heap. Hux and Phasma shared a look before lifting him onto the unoccupied bed.

Hux locked the door behind them and called a trooper to guard the door, saying, “I fully expect he’ll get out. Just inform me when he does.”

Phasma glanced over at him before returning to her post and said quietly, “I must speak with you this evening, General. In private.”

He merely nodded once.

~ ~ ~

Two sharp knocks announced the presence of the woman Hux had met in training, who had somehow grown close to him and who knew most of his secrets.

“Come in.”

“He still hasn't woken?”

Hux glanced up at her, grateful for the lack of formal pleasantries, “No. He's breathing and alive, just unconscious.”

He led her to the living area of his quarters, offering her a glass of his finest scotch, which she gladly accepted. They sat in relative comfortable silence before Phasma set her glass down and spoke urgently, “Brendol. You do realize who you have brought aboard our ship, don't you? You do know who your ‘weapon’ is?”

If Phasma was worried enough to use his first name, his suspicions were confirmed, “He’s Ben Solo, isn't he. Organa’s son.”

“Exactly! I don't know what happened to him or what his family knows, but if they get word we’re using him-”

“We’ll just have to be careful, then.”

~ ~ ~

A blaring ‘ping’ from his comm panel woke the general sometime after 3 in the morning. Within minutes he was dressed properly and his hair was tidy. A gun hung at his side, ready to contain any potential threats.

The guard informed him that Ren had blasted the doors open, and if they’d had hinges, they would have fallen off. It was easy enough to follow the path of destruction the weapon had left in his wake and it took Hux only a few minutes to track down the boy. When he found him, he was smashing up some panels in a little used room.

“Ren.”

The boy looked up at him, his eyes were a mess of emotions- hope, fear, anger, and hatred all rolled into one. They stood without moving for a time, before Ren decided to assume a relaxed position, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Hux frowned down at him before sighing and crouching down on his level.

“Ren, listen to me. You don’t want to be here, I get it. But you’ll get to leave faster if you keep your discontent to yourself. Disemboweling my ship is not going to convince the Alliance to give you your freedom.”  
Ren glared at him and snarled but kept still.  
  
Standing back up, the general straightened his uniform and peered down at the ragged lump of black in front of him, “Would you like to see the Finalizer?”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to allow me to know this place? You do realize just how dangerous I am, right? I could kill you all without you even realizing!” the boy spat with passion.

Allowing himself a huff of laughter, Hux agreed, “You could. And then you’d waste away, considering this ship cannot be piloted by a single person, no matter how powerful. Unless you can split yourself into multiple people?”

Ah, so Ren was the sulking type. Hux should have guessed. It befit him.  
  
Striding imperiously out the door, Hux listened for the sounds of Ren scrambling to follow him like a helpless puppy. He wasn’t disappointed.

Ren kept his head down, but his legs were longer than Hux’s and he caught up in a matter of seconds.

“Good. Your place is at my side, just as any worthwhile weapon is. Learn it.”

“Is that what I am to be?”

“You will have an important role in combat, considering your skillset, but when we are not engaged in battle, you are to stand by my side and read the minds of those whom I direct you to. You will then project your findings to me without reading my mind. Is this clear?”

“As a cloudless day.”

“Poetic, are we?”

“So what if I am? What did you expect me to do while being sliced open? Make daisy chains?”

Hux shook his head, choosing to point out the mess hall and officer’s lounge instead of responding, “You are not an officer, and you have no power to command on this ship. However, your power and position sets you apart from the rest of the crew. If you are agreeable, you will take your meals in the officer’s lounge rather than the hall.”

“Can’t someone just deliver my food to me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so, that’s why. My word is final.”

“Like the ship?”

“Watch that tongue Ren, or you may just find it has cost you liberties. I intended to let you keep your free time while we are flying through the Black. Don’t make me change my mind. If you don’t want to eat in the lounge, you can get your food and take it back yourself.”

“Fine.”

~ ~ ~

Three more days. Three more days and then they would land and Hux might actually achieve some peace and quiet. Ren had only been conscious for two days and he had destroyed four rooms, spilled soup and shattered glass all over a hallway, lit a stack of paperwork on fire, scared twelve different troopers shitless, and flashed the entire cafeteria.

Hux was ready to burst a vein.

The destruction had been from fits, most of them unprovoked. The third had been when one of the medics had tried to give him a vaccine relevant to the planet they were visiting.

The soup Ren blamed on him. Apparently he’d been carrying his lunch back to his room like he’d said he would when he slipped on one of his overly-large black robes. The fact that no one would cater it to his room because of Hux made the mess Hux’s fault somehow.

The paperwork had been on purpose. He’d been following Hux around all day, bored, and hadn’t liked the fact that the general liked to accomplish things with his time. Things like work.

The fear began on the second day, when he’d finished constructing his strange black mask. Alliance training did not prepare soldiers for a figure cloaked in black with a bucket on his head to appear around corners.

And then there was the last incident… That was likely intended to get a rise out of Hux as well. The two were next to each other in line in the cafeteria when Hux pointed out that the black robes were impractical. He suggested that Ren take to wearing a standard uniform. He didn’t know if his phrasing had been off and Ren had interpreted some phrase like ‘lose the robes’ literally, or if he had said exactly what he’d intended and Ren just wanted to piss him off.

Either way, it was working.

In three days time, Ren would be semi-permanently contained to his quarters in order to keep the wealthy of the core planet safe. Hux might be able to go for a whole day without hearing some horror story of what Ren did.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Knock.

Speak of the devil, that had to be Ren.

“You may enter,” he spoke, voice unwavering. It would not do to show Ren weakness- not now, not ever.

Kylo Ren made his way into the general’s quarters. He wore his mask and had to pull his robes along with him to ensure the automatic shutting door didn’t catch them (again.) (that incident hadn’t contributed to Hux’s headache considering how amusing it was. Although it may have prompted the arson). He stood stock still, just inside the room, presumably watching him.

Hux made a show of glaring at him over the top of his screens, “That tin can on your head is not permitted in my quarters. Have I not made this clear enough?”

Ren reached up slowly and mechanically to remove his mask, but the face under it was eerily blank. Hux stared at him and chills ran across his body unbidden. He wondered at once what had brought the weapon to his room so close to midnight. He prayed to any god that might exist that Ren wasn’t having nightmares. That would be one straw too many.

“Have a seat,” he sighed. Might as well be civil.

Ren folded himself into a chair in that same methodical manner. It was the way a person goes through the motions of the day when they’ve given up but can’t stop. It was also a feeling that Hux had never experienced. Witnessing it was unsettling.

“So, would you care to elaborate why you are here.”

“You command me.”

“I didn’t order you here, you just showed up.”

“I need commands,” unlike Ren’s typical impassioned voice, this was distinctly lackluster. Hux knew robots with more expressive tones.

“You didn’t seem to need any commands before, and you rarely listened when I did give you any.”

“I am aware. He thought you might set him free. He has been rewired to obey. His insolence is painful.”

Hux blinked. His first thought was shock. The Alliance knew how to modify people to the point that disobedience causes physical or mental pain? That was a level of power beyond even his comprehension. Soon, however, he was struck by Ren’s use of pronouns.

“He?”

“I am Kylo Ren, weapon of the Alliance. He is Ben Solo, even though he thinks he is Kylo Ren. They cut so deep into him that they released me, but not even they have the power to rid his own body of him.”

“So you are the actual weapon?”

Ren bowed deeply, “I am. And I am yours to command. Give me an order, General. So that his pain may stop.”

“Then I command you to get some sleep for the night and save the philosophy for tomorrow.”

Ren nodded once before going limp in his chair. Hux stared, disbelieving.

“I DIDN’T MEAN HERE YOU IDIOT!!!” but of course it was too late.

Kylo Ren slumbered on, unaware, but very much still in Hux’s personal chambers.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Comments? Theories? Directions to go/characters you'd like to see later on?


End file.
